Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
  • C08L3/00—Compositions of starch, amylose or amylopectin or of their derivatives or degradation products
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L23/00—Soups; Sauces; Preparation or treatment thereof
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L29/00—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L29/20—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents
  • A23L29/206—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents of vegetable origin
  • A23L29/212—Starch; Modified starch; Starch derivatives, e.g. esters or ethers
  • A23L29/219—Chemically modified starch; Reaction or complexation products of starch with other chemicals
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
  • A23L—FOODS, FOODSTUFFS OR NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; PREPARATION OR TREATMENT THEREOF
  • A23L29/00—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof
  • A23L29/20—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents
  • A23L29/206—Foods or foodstuffs containing additives; Preparation or treatment thereof containing gelling or thickening agents of vegetable origin
  • A23L29/212—Starch; Modified starch; Starch derivatives, e.g. esters or ethers
  • A23L29/225—Farinaceous thickening agents other than isolated starch or derivatives
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
  • C08L3/00—Compositions of starch, amylose or amylopectin or of their derivatives or degradation products
  • C08L3/02—Starch; Degradation products thereof, e.g. dextrin
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08L—COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS
  • C08L3/00—Compositions of starch, amylose or amylopectin or of their derivatives or degradation products
  • C08L3/04—Starch derivatives, e.g. crosslinked derivatives

Definitions

• This invention relates to a thickening composition comprising a “co-processed” combination of modified starch and flour.
• the invention relates to the process for providing such “ready-for-use” compositions and the improved food products prepared from the co-processed compositions.
• starches or flours as thickening agents has long been known in the art.
• Common uses of the starches and/or flours include the thickening of soup mixes or gravies to give body to the product. Starches have also been used as thickeners in processed products in the food industries.
• thickeners employing modified starches do not possess these process tolerance limitations inherent to unmodified starches and/or flours, thickeners prepared from modified starches do not have the desirable cooked flour taste and appearance of thickeners prepared from unmodified starches and/or flours.
• modified starch thickeners in foods often imparts a “synthetic” appearance as the foods are more translucent and have a glossy shine compared to foods prepared from unmodified starch and/or flour thickeners.
• This invention relates to a thickening composition comprising a “co-processed” combination of modified starch and flour.
• the invention relates to the process for providing such “ready-for-use” compositions and the improved food products prepared from the co-processed compositions.
• the process comprises blending at least one modified starch, particularly a stabilized and cross-linked or thermally-inhibited starch, with at least one flour, particularly wheat flour, and co-processing the blend.
• modified starch particularly a stabilized and cross-linked or thermally-inhibited starch
• flour particularly wheat flour
• the foods prepared from these superior thickeners have improved appearance, taste, process tolerance, emulsification, cold and hot temperature stability and instant viscosity properties compared to foods containing food service industry standard thickeners prepared from modified or unmodified starches.
• This invention relates to a composition comprising a “co-processed” combination of modified starch and wheat flour having desirable appearance, taste, process tolerance, emulsification, cold and hot temperature stability and instant viscosity properties.
• the invention relates to the process for providing such “ready-for-use” compositions and the improved food products prepared from the co-processed compositions.
• starch All starches and flours (hereinafter “starch”) may be suitable for use as the base starch herein and may be derived from any native source.
• the base starch will be subsequently modified unless the base starch is inherently stabilized as described infra, though an inherently stabilized starch may also be subject to subsequent modification.
• a native starch as used herein, is one as it is found in nature.
• starch or flours derived from a plant grown from artificial mutations and variations of the above generic composition which may be produced by known standard methods of mutation breeding are also suitable for use as the base starch as defined herein.
• Typical sources for the base starches which are to be modified are cereals, tubers, roots, legumes and fruits.
• the native source can be corn, pea, potato, sweet potato, banana, barley, wheat, rice, sago, amaranth, tapioca, arrowroot, canna, sorghum, and waxy or high amylose varieties thereof.
• Sources of particularly useful base starches are tapioca, dent corn, waxy maize, potato, sago, and rice.
• the term “waxy” is intended to include a starch or flour containing at least about 95% by weight amylopectin and the term “high amylose” is intended to include a starch or flour containing at least about 40% by weight amylose.
• Base starches suitable for subsequent modification are also intended to include conversion products derived from any of the starches, including fluidity or thin-boiling starches prepared by oxidation, enzyme conversion, acid hydrolysis, heat and or acid dextrinization, thermal and or sheared products.
• Modification of the base starch may be accomplished via a variety of know methods, provided the modification does not destroy the granular nature of the starch.
• the base starch may be treated by a combination of modifications in any order.
• modified starches are intended to include, without limitation, crosslinked starches, thermally inhibited starches, stabilized starches, acetylated and organically esterified starches, hydroxyethylated and hydroxypropylated starches, phosphorylated and inorganically esterified starches, cationic, anionic, nonionic, and zwitterionic starches, and succinate and substituted succinate derivatives of starch.
• modifications and combinations thereof are known and their preparation are described in the art. See, for example, Whistler, R.
• stabilized starch is intended to include starches which are substituted on the base starch by monofunctional chemical “blocking groups” and base starches which inherently demonstrate stabilized properties. Accordingly, a base starch which demonstrates inherently stabilized properties is also defined to be a modified starch for the purposes of this application. Foods containing stabilized starches are characterized by the ability to substantially retain their texture (viscosity) and other desirable properties, such as color and clarity, after being frozen and then thawed to room temperature.
• Examples of useful monofunctional substituted stabilized starches include, without limitation, starch esters and ethers, including starch acetates, starch octenylsuccinate, starch phosphates, and starch hydroxyalkylates.
• the preparation and properties of such stabilized starches are known in the art and described, for example, in Whistler R. L., BeMiller J. N., and Paschall E. F., Chpt 9, Sect 5, pg 343-349 , Starch Chemistry and Technology, 2 nd Ed, Academic Press, Inc. London (1984) and Whistler R. L. and Daniel J. R., Chpt 3, pg 119, Carbohydrates, Food Chemistry, 2 nd Ed., edited by Fenenma O. R., Marcel Dekker, Inc., NY, (1985).
• Starches which are inherently stabilized include, without limitation, waxy maize starches having at least one recessive sugary-2 allele.
• An example of such a starch includes waxy maize starch derived from a plant having endosperm tissue which is heterozygous, with either one or two doses, for the recessive sugary-2 allele, described further in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,883, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
• Another example includes starch derived from a waxy maize plant of a wxsu2 (homozygous) genotype and translocations, inversions, mutants and variants thereof, discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,972, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
• Particularly useful modified starches are food quality starches in which the starch is dually modified by “stabilizing” and crosslinking the starch or by “stabilizing” and thermally inhibiting the starch.
• Especially useful stabilized and crosslinked starches are, for example, hydroxypropylated distarch phosphate, acetylated distarch adipate and waxy maize starches having at least one recessive sugary-2 allele which are subsequently crosslinked or thermally inhibited.
• Particularly useful hydroxypropylated distarch phosphates are those in which the degree of substitution is in the range of from about 3.5% to about 8.8%, preferably from about 5.7% to about 6.7% by weight of the bound propylene oxide on starch; and the degree of crosslinking is from about 0.001% to about 0.04%, preferably from 0.01% to about 0.025% weight of phosphorus oxychloride reagent used to crosslink the starch. Weight percents are by weight of the starch.
• food quality starches are starches which are edible by animals, including human beings.
• Flours that are particularly useful for preparing co-processed compositions of the present invention include, without limitation, wheat, tapioca, rye, oat, buckwheat and soybean, especially wheat flour.
• Particularly useful wheat flours have less than 16% protein content and especially useful wheat flours have less than 10% protein content.
• the process for obtaining the co-processed composition of the present invention comprises blending a modified starch with a flour and co-processing the blend.
• Particularly useful blends are composed of modified starch to flour over a range of weight percent ratios of from about 72:28 to 93:7 starch:flour.
• Especially useful are starches modified by both crosslinking and stabilizing that are blended with wheat flour in ratios of between about 80:20 to about 90:10 (modified starch:flour).
• the blend is then co-processed.
• Co-processing involves subjecting the blend to a spray-cooking or drum-drying process.
• Particularly useful spray-cooking processes include the Steam Injection Dual Atomization (“SIDA”) process or the spray-cooking process known as the “EK Process” disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,131,953, 5,188,674, 5,281,432, 5,318,635, 5,435,851 and 5,571,552, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
• the EK Process is a continuous coupled process in which a starch slurry is jet-cooked, then conveyed at high temperature to a spray drier, and spray dried.
• the most particularly useful process is the SIDA process.
• the SIDA process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,600,472 and 4,280,851, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Where appropriate small-scale modifications of the SIDA process may be used. Such modifications are known to those of skill in the art, an example of which is presented herein, infra., in Example 1.
• the blend is initially mixed in an aqueous solvent (e.g. a slurry is formed) at the desired solids level and ratio of modified starch to flour.
• the desired solids level is between about 25% and about 43%, preferably between about 30 and about 35% by weight.
• the aqueous mixture (e.g. a slurry) is then atomized into an enclosed chamber to form a relatively fine spray which may be uniformly cooked or gelatinized.
• a heating medium is interjected into the atomized material in the chamber to cook the material.
• Atomization of the mixture of the blend and aqueous solvent (e.g. slurry) is effectuated in a multi-fluid nozzle through which is conveyed the mixture and steam (the heating medium) is interjected into the atomized material.
• the gelatinized mixture is transferred to a spray tower and dried, optionally to about a 3% to about a 12% moisture content by weight of the dried mixture.
• the processed material may optionally be agglomerated.
• Agglomeration may be achieved by methods known in the art, including, for instance, via batch or continuous processing.
• a particularly useful method of agglomeration involves spraying the material recovered from the spray tower with water until the individual particles adhere to one another. The particles are then dried to a moisture content of from about 3% to about 12% by the use of hot air.
• the final moisture content of the co-processed material is from about 3% to about 12%, irregardless of the method used to process the blend.
• compositions of the present invention demonstrate a combination of desirable appearance, taste, process tolerance, emulsification, cold and hot temperature stability and instant viscosity properties.
• One measure of desirable appearance is the relative opacity of the compositions of the present invention as determined by their relative turbidities in comparison to the “plastic” translucent appearance generally conferred by the use of a modified starch.
• the turbidities of a co-processed composition was compared to the corresponding modified starch (pregelatinized modified waxy maize) and unmodified starch (dent corn starch), each at 4% solids at 22° C.
• the co-processed composition of the present invention gave a high value of 3775 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (“NTUs”), comparable to the value of the corresponding unmodified starch (2501 NTUs) solution.
• NTUs Nephelometric Turbidity Units
• the corresponding modified starch which is the pregelatinized modified starch component of the co-processed composition, gave a much lower value (824 NTUs), reflecting the relative unsatisfactory translucency of the modified starch solution.
• the co-processed compositions of the present invention preferably have at least two times the opacity, more preferably three times and especially preferably four times the opacity of the corresponding (pregelatinized) modified starch as measured in NTUs.
• the superior process tolerance of the co-processed compositions is demonstrated by their ability to maintain their viscosity at high temperatures over time over a range of pH. For instance, in a conventional Brown sauce held at 71° C. over eight hours at a pH of 6.26, the co-processed composition of the present invention substantially maintained its viscosity, dropping from its peak viscosity by only 20%. By comparison industry standard thickeners containing unmodified starches show at least a 40% drop. In a conventional tomato sauce held over eight hours at a pH of 4.41, the co-processed composition showed only a 9% drop in viscosity compared to the industry standard thickeners which dropped their viscosities by more than 28%.
• thickeners prepared from corresponding blends of a “non-co-processed” pregelatinized modified starch and flour do not provide the superior process tolerance, emulsification stability and enduring uniformity of mixture that the co-processed compositions do.
• the co-processed compositions exhibit superior emulsion stability when used in sauces after cooking, and are able to maintain a uniform emulsion more than 24 hours after cooking.
• sauces prepared from a corresponding non-co-processed blend or a modified starch lose their emulsion and begin to separate the fat component of the sauce immediately after cooking.
• the co-processed compositions also demonstrate superior retention of viscosity in cooked sauces as well as providing an advantageously enduring uniform distribution of the modified starch and flour throughout the composition as compared to the corresponding non-co-processed blend.
• the ability of the co-processed compositions to resist separation into the component starch and flour during shipping enables the use of these compositions without requiring the extra step of ensuring adequate distribution by re-mixing the blend before use.
• the co-processed compositions of the present invention exhibit excellent cold temperature stability as demonstrated by superior free/thaw properties.
• the co-processed compositions are the only thickeners able to substantially return to their initial state after four freeze/thaw cycles when used in sauces which cover range of pHs.
• a substantial return to initial state, as defined herein, indicates a food having a substantially unchanged texture, appearance, and viscosity.
• the co-processed compositions of the present invention give instant viscosity in sauces over a range of pHs, achieving approximately 82% of its peak viscosity in about four minutes. Accordingly, the co-processed compositions function as “ready-for-use” products that other industry standards thickeners cannot provide.
• compositions of the present invention advantageously combine the superior taste and appearance of unmodified starch-containing thickeners with the process tolerance, emulsification, temperature stability and instant viscosity properties of thickeners containing modified starches.
• Foods in which the thickeners prepared from the co-processed composition of the present invention are useful include, without limitation, sauces, gravies, dips, dressings, fillings, cheese sauce, fruit toppings, turnover fillings, marinades, soups, condiments, chowders, relishes, pate, batters, desserts, glazes, vinaigrettes, coatings, frozen entrees, dry mixes, and cream style vegetables.
• Dent corn starch also referred to herein as “corn starch” widely commercially available as corn starch.
• Arrowroot flour commercially available, for example, from Neshaminy Valley Natural Foods.
• Potato starch commercially available, for example, from Avebe. (Food Grade Potato Starch)
• Tapioca starch commercially available, for example, from National Starch and Chemical Company. (Tapioca Starch)
• Modified starch a pregelatinized dihydroxypropylated distarch phosphate waxy maize starch stabilized to a degree of from about 5.7% to about 6.7% by weight bound propylene oxide on the starch (by wt % starch), and crosslinked from about 0.01% to about 0.025% by weight of phosphorus oxychloride reagent (by wt % starch) used to crosslink the starch.
• a 1 ⁇ 4 J system comprising an air atomizing nozzle in combination with air and fluid caps was used to effect the spray cooking.
• the uniform mixture of the slurry was pumped at 140 psi into the air cap and gelatinized via steam at 135 psi.
• the resulting gelatinized mixture was then atomized by the resulting steam pressure through orifices in the cap.
• the atomized mixture was then dried as it dropped through the spray tower (associated with the 1 ⁇ 4 J system) with air at a temperature of 236° C. and recovered as a pregelatinized dry powder.
• the moisture content of such powders was between about 3 to about 12% by weight of the co-processed composition.
• the dried mixture was then agglomerated by fluidizing the dried pregelatinized mixture in a fluidized bed at a temperature of 90° C. while spraying water onto the dried mixture until the individual particles adhered to one another and a loose bulk density of 0.18 to 0.35 grams/cc was achieved.
• the turbidity, which corresponds to opacity, of the co-processed composition (“CPC”) was even higher than that of the solution prepared from the corresponding unmodified starch and was desirably more opaque than that of the modified starch.
• a conventional brown sauce having a pH of 6.25 was formulated from each starch (dent corn starch, wheat flour, CPC prepared according to Example 1, tapioca starch, arrowroot flour, and potato flour) as follows: beef broth: 90.17%, butter 6.20%, starch 2.76%, salt 0.74% and pepper 0.13%. All percentages are weight percents.
• Each sauce was brought to a rapid boil on the stove top, reduced to a simmer and held for two minutes. A portion of the sauce was then separated off for freeze/thaw testing as described in Example 4, infra. The remaining sauce was placed on a steam table unit and held at 71° C. for eight hours. Viscosity testing was performed every hour.
• the brown sauce containing the co-processed composition of the present invention (“CPC”) was able to maintain its viscosity over eight hours showing only a 20% drop.
• sauces containing an unmodified starch showed at least a 40% drop in viscosity.
• a conventional Tomato Sauce having a pH of 4.41 was formulated from each starch (dent corn starch, wheat flour, CPC prepared according to Example 1, tapioca starch, arrowroot flour, and potato flour) as follows: water 64.63%, tomato paste 30.60%, olive oil 1.97%, starch 1.50% and salt 1.30%. All percentages are weight percents.
• Each sauce was brought to a rapid boil on the stove top, reduced to a simmer and held for two minutes. A portion of the sauce was then separated off for freeze/thaw testing as described in Example 5, infra. The remaining sauce was placed on a steam table unit and held at 71° C. for eight hours. Viscosity testing was performed every hour. An RVT Brookfield Viscometer was used for viscosity measurements. All viscosities are reported in Centipoise (cps).
• the tomato sauce containing the co-processed composition of the present invention (“CPC”) was able maintain its viscosity over eight hours showing only about a 9% drop.
• sauces prepared from industry standard thickeners containing an unmodified starch showed at least a 28% drop.
• the brown and tomato sauces prepared according to Examples 3 and 4, respectively, were placed in 4 ounce jars and frozen for a minimum period of 24 hours. After each cycle of 24 hours, the sample was brought to room temperature (about 22° C.) and evaluated visually. The samples were then heated to 71° C. and evaluated visually. The results are presented in Tables 4 and 5 for the brown sauce and tomato sauce, respectively.
• the co-processed thickener of the present invention was able to return to its initial state after more than one freeze/thaw cycle.
• the co-processed thickener of the tomato sauce maintained its cold temperature stability throughout more than four free/thaw cycles.
• Samples of each starch and the co-processed composition were tested for their initial viscosity and processing stability during a heating and hold profile. All samples were tested on the Newport Scientific Series 4 Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA). All samples were prepared and tested at 5.00% solids in water and run at pHs of 3.0 and 6.0, by adjusting the pH with a buffer solution.
• the buffer solution was prepared by mixing 1.5 volumes of solution A with 1.0 volumes of solution B.
• Solution A was prepared by diluting citric acid monohydrate (210.2 g) in distilled water (1000 ml).
• Solution B was prepared by diluted tri-sodium citrate, dihydrate in distilled water (1000 ml).
• the RVA Configuration Profile was set as follows:
• RVA viscosity data is reported in Table 6.
• CPC co-processed composition of the present invention
• This example illustrates improved emulsification properties of thickeners prepared from the co-processed composition of the present invention as compared to a corresponding non-co-processed blend.
• Example 2 Three brown sauces were made according to the preparation described in Example 2.
• the starch was either the co-processed composition prepared according to Example 1 (“CPC”), a corresponding dry blend of modified starch and wheat flour (dry blend), or the modified starch alone.
• the sample containing CPC remained uniform and fluid throughout 24 hours, with no separation of the fat in the system.
• the sample containing the dry blend began to separate within five minutes after cooking the sample, but remained in uniformly distributed pockets of butter throughout the sample.
• the sample containing only the modified starch began to separate immediately after cooking, forming uniformly distributed pockets of butter throughout the sample, which ultimately formed a ring of 8 ml of butter that solidified on the surface of the sauce.

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